US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who disappointed by bagging only Cheney‘s assistant Scooter Libby in connection with the White House planned unmasking of CIA agent Valerie Plame, is in the news again – this time to the cheers of Republicans – as he announced the federal government’s takedown of Illinois’ Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday for astonishingly blatant corruption in trying to trying to auction off the US Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama.

The brief criminal complaint and supporting 76-page FBI affidavit used by Fitzgerald’s office in arresting Blagojevich (and his top aide) – and effectively putting an end to Blagojevich’s Senate seat auction scheme and other abuses – are here. Having been caught on tape, Blagojevich appears to be in the bag.

Fitzgerald has been involved in investigating corruption in Chicago for years – having helped to investigate and convict former Republican governor George Ryan for racketeering and fraud in 2006, and indicting aides to Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley for mail fraud in 2005. Further, the New York Times reports that “members of Mr. Blagojevich’s administration have been under investigation for more than a year. And this spring, the governor’s office was upended by the corruption trial of Antoin Rezko, a political fundraiser (with relatively remote connections to Obama), when witnesses said Mr. Blagojevich had participated in kickback schemes that led to Mr. Rezko’s conviction.”

Given the level of scrutiny obviously being paid by the feds to Blagojevich’s office, Blagojevich deserves to be arrested not simply for corruption, but also for the blind, stupid greed and hubris involved with so blatantly shopping Obama’s Senate seat.

This reminds me of other good news regarding corrupt politicians is that nine-term Democratic Congressman William Jefferson of New Orleans has lost his seat to Vietnam-born Republican Anh “Joseph” Cao. As an additional benefit, this is expected to make it more difficult for Democrats to shut off debate and force bills to a vote in the House of Representatives.